Old Habits
by simplydoitbest
Summary: Old habits, they say they die hard, but does that always have to be the case? Post-war & Post Hogwarts. Draco is considered a traitor to the dark, and never fully trusted by the light. Hermione is, as always highly logical. The two share a spark. When boredom mixes with a little bit of courage an unlikely relationship may form. M.
1. Chapter 1

-I own nothing J.K. Rowling is Queen.

He found himself always drifting off into his thoughts at these functions. He hated them. He'd been around the stuffy formal affairs his whole life. He grew up on them. He didn't know there were functions that didn't require a tie. He caught a glimpse of someone sitting at the bar. They knew each other, a little too well, and yet not really at all. Out of boredom, and a tad but of Dutch courage he decided he would approach her.

"You always look terribly bored at these things." He spoke as smoothly as ever as he leaned in, and took the seat at the bar next to her.

She took a sip of her drink looking over the glass at him while doing so. She set it back down on the bar and licked her pink lips.

"They are boring are they not?" she asked him with a nod of her head and a smirk.

He smirked back at her, and signaled the bar tender.

"Another for me, and whatever she's having as well, put it on my tab thanks." His piercing blue eyes landed back on her warm brown ones.

"Ah how nice of you Malfoy, my how far we've come from our childhood. The dark prince is buying me a drink." She had a teasing tone as she smirked in his direction once again.

"Yes we've all come a long way haven't we Granger, it sometimes seems further away than it actually is doesn't it?" he asked her with a kink in his furrowed brow.

"Being in a war most of your adolescence has that effect I guess; we are only twenty-five Malfoy." She took another sip of her drink.

"I guess you're right." He followed suit with his drink.

"Why are you over here Malfoy?" She turned to face him fully.

He was hoping she wouldn't ask that.

"I thought you looked bored." He said defensively.

"So?" she retorted.

Damn she was never easy.

"So… I thought we could have a chat over a drink." He said quickly as if he was under intense interrogation.

"What exactly are you up to cause I am really not in the mood for your bullshit Malfoy." She had always thought about him. In different ways throughout her life. He mixed up so many different emotions. He made her feel unsteady. The opposite of how she feels around anyone else. She was always steady, always sure. She found it difficult to drop her defenses. She stared daggers at his eyes.

"Woah retract the claws kitten." He said as he feigned being hurt.

"That's not an answer to my question, and don't call me kitten unless you want me to hex your balls off." She said with bite.

"So much aggression and in one so petite." He chuckled to himself, took another sip of his drink and continued "Listen Granger we're not kids anymore, I have no ill will towards you, I was honestly just bored at yet another ministry function that we all feel obliged to attend." He held his hand over his heart and looked at her for a response.

Hermione was looking at him up and down sizing him up. He always was rather handsome. The bad boy image didn't hurt at all, not that she would ever admit that. His hair had grown out to a nice length, and he had filled out quite nicely… especially his chest and arms. She decided she could give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides she was tipsy and didn't want to ruin her slight buzz.

"Ok Malfoy, I don't know how much I can do for your boredom, but I'll retract the claws…. A little." She said with what he thought was a small smile.

"How come you're always by yourself at these things?" he asked.

She could hear the honesty in his voice.

"I don't quite enjoy the retelling of war stories over… and over like so many seem to." She didn't want to lie, or tell a joke. She didn't know why…but her usual responses to such questions didn't seem adequate or necessary.

He took a deep breath.

"Merlin I thought I was the only one that felt that way. It's so incredibly suffocating."

"Yes! Why on earth would I want to relive that constantly?!" she reached out and touched his knee as she finished her thought.

There was an immediate spark. The ever so slight stomach flip. They both felt it.

Just like that she retracted her arm.

"Oh I'm sorry." She said as she looked down.

His eyes stayed on her. She was something. Long cinnamon curls fell in front her lightly freckled face.

"It's really fine… Hermione." He finished saying her actual name to her for the first time.

As soon as she heard it she looked up. She let out a real smile for the first time in what felt like ages.

"So why are you always alone… Draco?" She asked him playfully?

"Not too many people want to be friends with a former Death Eater. Traitor to one side, and never trusted on the other." He said as he looked down at his drink I his hands.

"That's ridiculous." She said as if to brush it off without a thought to its veracity.

"Is it?" he asked genuinely with a quirk of his eyebrow.

She frowned a little.

"Well yes in my mind." She answered truthfully.

He looked at her, and her began to worry himself. He couldn't let himself feel this way. He had to keep up his walls. They were there for his protection he tried to remind himself.

"Well not everyone is as clever as you are." He smirked in her direction once again.

"We were children…at war. You made the right choice in the end. It's hard to combat what we're taught at a young age. Bloody hell, look at everyone in this room. Go on look, same cliques they were in at Hogwarts. We regress one another. It can be a good thing, fun, innocent. but it can certainly go the opposite direction. Same old prejudices, as if we didn't fight to end that. I know I did. Sometime it seems we've just flipped it. It hurts me to hear you feel that way."

He was touched by her words. She was always well beyond most people when it came to thinking. He shouldn't have been surprised. Here she was, someone who had more reasons than anyone to not trust him. Hate him even, going out of her way to make a point that he shouldn't be shunned away like he was carrying the plague or something.

"You might need to add kindness to that whole brightest witch of her age thing you know." He said looking into her warm eyes."

She scrunched up her face slightly hearing that old moniker.

"I never really liked that, too pompous."

"Not untrue though, is it?" He questioned.

She rolled her eyes in return.

"You know this is one of the most stimulating conversation I've had at one of these things in ages. I've liked talking to you, Draco." She said in a soft tone.

He decided to take a chance. He jumped.

"Perhaps we should do it again sometime… get together…and talk I mean."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

He saw her open her mouth with a slight smile but she was cut off before she could give him her answer.

"Mione!" the redhead shouted.

They both turned to face the direction of the shouting. Then Draco quickly turned back, and gave his full attention to the bar his drink sat upon.

"Ronald." Hermione said with an exasperated sigh, which seemed to go unnoticed by the man.

"What are you still doing over here, and talking to that prat of all people?" He gestured towards Malfoy spilling the drink in his hand in the process.

Malfoy didn't turn around but simply raised his own glass, "Oh, very nice to see you too Weasley."

"Seriously Ron don't be childish." Hermione harshly whispered, people were watching them. People were always watching them. "Go find Ginny, I'll meet you guys outside…after I finish my drink."

Draco's eyes lit up ever so slightly at hearing that last part.

"But Mione! Just come now. You can't possibly be enjoying yourself." He persisted like a petulant child.

"No, I for one am not five too many drinks in, and Draco was kind enough to get this for me. I've been over here by myself for over an hour, nice of you to finally notice though really. I'm having a civil adult conversation, because unlike the rest of you, I can't stand continuing with childhood fights. We're all theoretically supposed to be adults, try acting it sometime." She finished with a sip and turned around to face the bar with Draco.

Ron huffed and disappeared into the crowd.

"I know you like to think we're all passed our childhood crap, but seeing you scold Weasley is about the best thing I've seen in months." He said stifling a laugh.

She rolled her eyes at him in return.

"I didn't mean to come off that harsh, I was just aggravated."

"You don't have to explain anything to me I loved it." He said looking at her with a smirk.

"I'm sure you did. You and all the others." She said motioning to everyone around them.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She looked at him and tilted her head slightly.

"You can't be serious…We're in the trashy sections of the papers every week. I just can't stand when he gets like that. So irrationally stuck in his own ways. It's even worse when he drinks, hence why I particularly loathe occasions like this. He's changed…or I have I really don't know anymore." She seemed to trail off in her own thoughts before she realized how much she was opening up.

Draco was taken aback by how blunt she was being. He cleared his throat.

"I… uh, actually didn't even know you two were together."

"Oh, I just assumed. I really don't know what we are at this point." She said looking down at the floor.

"Right. Well I better be going, it was nice seeing you. Nice talk." He said as he got up out of his chair, and began to leave.

Hermione didn't even plan on saying anything else, but he got a few steps away from her and…

"Yes!" she said a little too loudly. She mentally kicked herself for being somewhat spastic. She was working on that.

He made his way back a bit to her.

"Yes what?" he asked looking at her.

"Oh, your question earlier…before we got interrupted. You said you wanted to get together…a better setting perhaps. Less nosey onlookers."

He kinked one of his eyebrows up in her direction.

"I'm not sure your…Weasley is going to take that too well."

"I don't give him an itinerary of my day. He sure doesn't give me one. If you've changed your mind that's fine."

He held his hand up to stop her from what he was sure was sizing up to be another rant.

"I never said that, did I?" he smirked at her. "I just wouldn't want the Gryffindor war princess's halo to fall off on a count of me."

"I can keep a secret if you can."

"Oh, a clandestine meeting to simply have an adult to talk to, you bad girl you."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Are you quite finished?" She asked him

"Not even close."

"I'll need another drink then."

"I thought you had to get going?"

"They'll have left without me…trust me. He'll have thrown a tantrum about me not coming out right away, or something else utterly ridiculous. Then Ginny and Harry will have whisked him away, so he doesn't make even more of a scene. Then he'll wake up tomorrow acting as if nothing happened at all."

"Wow, that's a lot to wrap my head around."

He sat back down in his seat next to her at the bar and got them both another drink.

She took the drink in her hand.

"That's my life I suppose."

"Mine's not any better."

"It's strange, isn't it? I mean did you ever think we'd end up here… like this?" she questioned him with a look.

"I'm not sure I follow princess."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"I mean, as kids didn't you think there would be more to life."

"Yeah, I suppose but reality kind of sunk in quick for me."

"It's like we became sort of adrenaline junkies at the wrong time. We didn't really have a normal childhood….war and all."

"I was never going to have a normal childhood, but I get where you're coming from."

"Well Merlin me neither! I am a muggle born witch after all…normal was not in the cards."

"Seems we have a lot in common, who would've known." He said quietly.

"I may have had an inkling." She smirked at him.

"Oh really? Why didn't you share your alleged inkling then?"

"Scared." She simply stated.

"A Gryffindor? Scared? A Gryffindor admitting she's scared? I think I've had one too man I can't have possibly heard you right." He said with a hand placed behind his ear.

"Oh, you heard me right, but I can't speak to your personal alcohol tolerance Draco."

He laughed his eyes looking warmer than they ever have in his whole life.

She found herself being very attracted to his laugh. Or maybe even just him all together. She was beginning to feel very nervous.

"I um I should be going. I'll be in touch."

She wasn't even sure what made her get up or speak those words, she felt as if she was having an outer body experience.

He watched her walk away somewhat shocked, and half expecting to never hear from her again.


End file.
